As technology is evolving more and more, we are getting more connected to each other, thanks to the innovations – especially the Internet of Things(IoT). IoT is becoming a major part of our lives, with IoT App Development dominating the software creation vertical, leading to the creation of IoT Application Development Company.
With an expected 25 billion IoT devices by the end of 2020, every IoT Application Development Company is on a war footing to grab this market share. But, in this race of technological supremacy, everyone gets prone to security lapses which lead to several grave consequences.
Connections made through an IoT application are huge, but how safe are they? As an IoT App Development Company, you must make every “sign-in” safe and secure. This has to be done by making things sturdy from your end and keeping it the same from the user’s end as well. Let’s see a list of IoT security measures which you should avoid.
Security mistakes in IoT Mobile App Development
- Continuing with default credentials
More often, when you buy a device or load an application, you get a default username and password which we are too lazy to change. This acts as the first point of entry for any hacker.
You should change this default credential immediately and not just change it at that time, but do it regularly to not set a monotonous activity streak on your account which a hacker can easily detect. Also, keep in mind to make your credentials less predictive by giving it a mix of numbers, alphabets, and special characters.
- Giving permissions to all applications
Applications installed on your mobile sometimes need permissions to access your camera, contacts, and other contact touch-points. We, to make it easy, permit all such requests hoping to run all these applications smoothly and failing to detect malicious intent if any.
Permissions should be granted selectively to all your applications as this will give them access to your private storage spaces. Keep permissions granted to a minimum.
“Truecaller” will need permission to your “Contacts” but not your “Camera”.
Therefore, be careful in what you are providing to your applications.
- Lack of management controls
In an IoT Application Development Company, major access controls are not given to all devices and are reserved. This makes an organisation vulnerable to attacks, and in the time of an attack, employees will have to seek permissions to remove discrepancies.
This will take up time and will make the damage more serious before it is removed. This is the reason why regulated management level controls should be given to all devices.
- Missing out on regular updates
Any updates not just give us new features which are pleasing to the eye, but also fixes its backend issues. Sometimes ignoring these makes the application prone to attacks. You should always update the applications and also firmware of a device to make them safe and secure to tread with.
Firmware updates should be given priority on your new device but should be given more importance when it comes to old devices as these are more prone to security lapses.
- Leaving your router open
Leaving your router open is like leaving the doors opened for the thieves to enter easily without any hindrances. Using the default credentials or not using the WPA2 encryption leaves your router vulnerable to hackers.
Hackers can easily enter your network and attack the devices which are using that particular open network.
Therefore, do not leave it open and use it for any purposes to avoid any discrepancy.
- Using unsecured network connections
If leaving your router unsecured is unsafe, so is using an unsecured network connection. It gives hackers easy access to your device from which they can use your contacts and other personal information for any wrong-doings.
Also, if you are using an unsecured network connection, it is best to avoid using any banking and financial applications over the internet as these are more prone to such attacks over an unsecured network.
- Discrepancies in endpoint data
Endpoint data comprises the information of the user and the type of device he/she is using. This gives an IoT Application Development Company an idea of the user-pattern and the security features of the application and device. Thus, this data should be updated regularly to make a company more competent while preparing patches of security.
The devices and the application should be followed up with a regular protocol analysis as part of an overall security feature review process.
Conclusion
This being said, the most important part of any security review process is to be more aware of what we are doing as an IoT Mobile App Development concern as well as a user.
IoT along with ML, And AI ie. Artificial Intelligence of things(AIoT) is definitely making our lives easier by opening a plethora of opportunities for us but is also making us prone to vulnerabilities. IoT App Development process needs to be made secure by removing the above-mentioned problems to make IoT a successful part of our life.